RGBW LED emitters targets narrow-beam stage lighting

April 02, 2013 //
By Christoph Hammerschmidt

LED Engin, Inc. announces the LZ4 flat lens family of compact, 4-die RGBW emitters for wash lamps and follow spots used in stage lighting applications. Two variants are available: LZ4 that can be driven to 1A and LZ4-Plus that can be driven to 1.5A per die, producing up to 550 and 725 lumens output respectively, some 30% more than rival products. The multi-color LED die, which are mounted onto LED Engin’s propriety, multi-later thermally efficient substrate, are capped with a flat glass primary lens.

Precise color control is achieved via the ability to individually address each die, in conjunction with in-source color mixing and without the added complexity and cost of attaching color filters to lamps. The compact LZ4 emitters with flat glass windows can be used with various secondary optics, including zoom lenses and imaging optics, and are capable of delivering beam widths down to 6 degrees in such systems.

This latest emitter technology facilitates the design of more reliable, controllable and versatile studio lighting compared with high intensity discharge (HID) lamps, often in much smaller enclosures. The LEDs also deliver more consistent color over their service life, run much cooler and save energy.

The technology underpinning the new emitters is LED Engin's LuxiGen platform. LED die are fixed to a low thermal resistance substrate using a unique gold-tin eutectic die-attach process. This allows users to drive the LED dies with higher current and generate more light, while keeping junction temperatures low to ensure long operating life. In the LZ4 RGBW emitters, four die of the same dimensions are closely packed together onto each substrate for optimized étendue. This produces narrower, punchy beams with better color mixing and sharp cut-offs. Utilizing a flat glass lens allows the primary optic to be closer to the die for highest coupling efficiencies and facilitating the use of zoom optics, mixing rods, light pipes and other TIR optics. The product also has its anodes and cathodes aligned, simplifying board design when using multiple emitters in a single lighting fixture.